Button-clip.



J. T. TEEHAN.

BUTTON CLIP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1912.

1,060,21'?. Patented M1129, 191s.

@MMA/@CW ,j

JOI-IN F. TEEHAN, OF BROGKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BUTTON-CLIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 29,1913.

l Application led. April 8, 1912. Serial No. 689,393.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. TEEHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, count-y of Plymouth, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Button-Clips, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the lasting of button shoes and particularly to a device for maintaining the upper in a predetermined position.

After a button boot or shoe has been fitted and is ready for the placing of the buttons, it is usually the custom to lay the upper flat with the seams even and the fly resting in the position intended in the original design of the shoe. The 'position of the button is then marked by a pencil or other marking point by punching through the outer end of the button hole on to the narrow side top. The buttons are then sewed at the points marked. Tt has been found, however, that with the buttons positioned in this manner it is impossible to maintain the lines of the upper as originally designed when the shoe is lasted. This is because the severe strain which is exerted in pulling the upper on the last at the waist and instep causes the buttons to tip from their original upright position, thus increasing the measurement of the upper through the waist and instep portions. This results in faults which are very common in button boots in which the center seams are frequently twisted to one side and the side or vamp lines drawn toward the shank of the last, thus spoiling the appearance of the shoe and losing the desired lines of the original design. In order to offset the strain on the three or four lower buttons which are used to hold the upper during lasting, it has been the custom to set these .lower buttons at the waist and instep farther down on the upper than the marks made, as above described. This is done so that when the tipping of the buttons during lasting takes place the seams and lines will be drawn to their proper place, instead of being carried beyond it.

to raise the the shoe is completed these buttons are, of course, out of alinement with the remaining buttons so that they do not follow the general lines of the button holes in the fly and cause a part at least of the frequent lack of fit in button boots and shoes.

It is the purpose of my invention to make it possible to place the buttons in their natural position as indicated by the ends of the button holes in the fly when the shoe is laid flat with the seams even and the fly resting in its position as originally designed. To accomplish this I have employed a device which engages and holds the shank of a button and oppositely engages and holds the outer end of the button hole with such a distance between the engaging parts as will offset the increase in the measurement allowed by the tipping of the button and the stretching of the leather through the waist and instep. l have constructed this device in such a way that it will also hold the button more nearly in an upright position by providing for a portion of the clip which shall enter under the button and rest upon the narrow button top. The further advantage secured by my device is that after the. shoe is lasted it is an easy matter to unbutton to remove it from the last as the button hole engaging port-ion acts as a guide when the fly is raised and the shoe button is in a position in the button hole, which allows it to be readily disengaged. This relief in unbuttoning not only makes it easier to unbutton the shoe but prevents the tearing off or breaking of buttons which in itself is a considerable item of expense, especially on womens shoes on which costly buttons are frequently used. Furthermore, by properly proportioning the distance between the button engaging portion and the button hole engaging portion a sufficiently increased measurement through the instep is secured so that it is unnecessary last block or leather the instep of lasts, as has usually been the practice in the manufacture of mens button boots and shoes. This practice has been necessary on However, when account of the difference in the measurement at ball and instep between lace and button shoes. Mens lasts for lace shoes are generally made with the difference of three eighths of an inch in ball and instep measure. For button shoes, however, the instep is required to be one eighth of an inch larger.

The construction and operation of my clip will be more fully described in the specification which follows.

Throughout specification and; drawings like reference numerals are employed to indicate corresponding parts, and in the drawings: Figure l is a view of a button upper lasted with clips in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view through a button hole and button showing the clip in place, Fig. 3 is a plan View of the clip removed, and Fig. 4 is an edge View of the same.

I have indicated in the drawings a button upper l having buttons 2 and but-ton holes 3, having an overlapping fly 4 and a narrow side top l1.

The clip illustrated in the drawings as embodying my invention is preferably bent from a single piece of wire with a loop or handle portion 6 formed by a bow in the wire. Just adjacent to the ends of this bow I form a pair of closely adjacent diverging bends, as indicated at 7, which form a broad top stud over which the button hole is drawn and which is adapted to engage the outer end and the upper edge of a button hole 3. The wire is then preferably given a twist, as indicated at 8, and the free ends formed with a bowed fastener engaging portion 9 terminating in a pair of diverging ends 10. As indicated in Fig. 4, the entire clip is preferably given a slight curvey so that the handle portion 6 and the free `ends l0 are bent downward slightly out of the horizontal to conform to the curve of the last.

Just prior to lasting, the lower buttons of the upper are buttoned through the button holes 3 and the fly 4 is pulled over, leaving a space at the outer end of the button holes. The clip is then seized by the handle 6 with the projections 7 uppermost. The free ends l0 are then sho-ved in until they engage the fastening of the buttons 2, the jaws l0 expanding slightly until the button fastening is lodged within the portion 9. The ily 4 is then pulled over and the outer portion of the button holes 3 are hooked over the projection 7. The spread of the upper end of the projecting loops 7 prevents the upper from becoming unbuttoned during handling prior to delivery to the laster. It will be seen by reference to Fig. 1 that this leaves the shoe buttoned in such a way that when placed on the last the upper will be held firmly against any pulling in that process. During the lasting the buttons will be held within the button holes and with the fly 4 firmly braced by the engagement of the outer edge of the button hole 3 over the projection 7 and with the inner end of the fastener pressing against the fastening close to the surface of the shoe. The shoe when thus lasted will have its front seam 8 straight and its vamp lines undistorted. The edge 4 of the fly will be maintained in an easy normal position instead of being drawn out of position up to the dotted line 5, as would be the case if the upper were drawn tight until the fastenings of the buttons 2 engaged the outer end of the button hole. When it is desired to remove the shoe from the last the fly 4 is lifted until the outer portion of the button hole 3 slips over the projection 7. This eases the shoe so that the upper may be readily unbuttoned without the usual pulling and straining on the buttons and button holes.

The construction of my catch may obviously be varied to a considerable degree and it may be made in a variety of forms and of a variety of materials. The essential feature of the fastener resides in the provision of means for engaging the outer edge of the button hole and holding it spaced a suitable distance from the fastening point of the button. Aside from this feature, various modifications may obviously be made, all without departing'from the spirit of my invention if within the limits of the appended claims. i

That I, therefore, claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A clip of the class described and formed of a single piece of wire comprising a handle loop formed of the wire, an upwardly projecting fold in the wire, a twist in said wire on the opposite side of said projection, an outwardly bowed portion in each end beyond said twist, the free ends of said wire being finally bent into a fork having diverging arms.

2. A clip of the class described and formed of a single piece of wire comprising a loop formed in the wire, the ends being bent into upwardly projecting diverging folds, and twisted together on the opposite side of said projection, the free ends of said wire being finally bent into a fork.

3. A clip of the class described formed from wire bent with a pair of upwardly projecting diverging folds and having free ends formed as button engaging jaws.

4. A clip of the class described comprising a wire bent with a pair of diverging button hole engaging folds and a button engaging fork.

5. A clip of the class described, comprising a shank having a forked end adapted to engage the fastening of a button, a pro- 1,060,21:I i a jection on said shank adaptedto protrude In testimony whereof I afiX my signa-ture through the button hole through which said in presence of two Witnesses.

button passes and engage the outer end v thereof, said projection being spaced apart JOHN F' TEEHAN' 5 from said fork a suitable distance to main- Witnesses:

tain the outer edge of said button hole at VICTORIA LOWDEN, the desired distance from said button. R. B. ELLMS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

